Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Huge march in San Diego over Prop 8 ruling

Between 5,000 and 10,000 people took to the streets of San Diego this evening to protest the California Supreme Court ruling that upheld Proposition 8, the voter-passed constitutional amendment that put a stop to same-sex marriages in California last November.

The court ruled 6-1 that the amendment is valid. The court also said the 18,000 same-sex couples who married in California between June and November 2008 are still married.

Among the marchers was Lisa Sanders, Republican Mayor Jerry Sanders' openly lesbian daughter. Both spoke at the march's end at the Hall of Justice downtown.

"Can I get an applause? I walked the whole way in my high heels today," said Lisa Sanders. "I'm very saddened today that the Supreme Court did not overturn Prop 8. However, I am here with all of you and I know that we will get full equality. We will all be treated equally because we're all family and we're here today to fight for our rights."

Mayor Sanders said: "I don't know why either one of (my daughters) would be a threat to anybody in the world. They both want happiness. They both want families. They both want what all of you want, and they want what everybody else wants: the opportunity to be with someone you love and to be married. And that's not something we can give away to anybody. It's not something the Supreme Court can decide. The Supreme Court needs to listen and look at the people involved and see how personal this is for everybody here and for every Californian. We need to continue to fight to make sure equality hits every community in San Diego."

Lisa Sanders is engaged to Meaghan Yaple. Sanders' other daughter is straight.

Click inside any photo to see it at full size

Lisa Sanders (holding the banner)

Police Chief William Lansdowne

Bonus pic: That's me in a yellow T-shirt leaning on my bike taking pictures. Photo by David Poller. All other photos by me.